


How I Met Your Father

by milecgv



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - How I Met Your Mother Fusion, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bedtime Stories, Daddy Calum, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Storytelling, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, really really fluffy, slight smutt, teenage angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-03 09:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milecgv/pseuds/milecgv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calum promises to tell his kids the story of how he met their Papa Michael.</p><p>Or </p><p>The one where Daddy Calum tells his little kids a special bedtime story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was playing with different fic ideas and being a huge fan of HIMYM I just thought it would be fun to have a little AU like that. It's really fluffy but I hope you guys like it.

"C'mon dad, we're waiting!" an annoyed little voice called from down the hall. 

"Yeah daddy c'mon! Hurry up!" another one joined in, squealing in excitement. 

Calum just chuckled to himself at his kids enthusiasm. To get them to calm down during dinner, he'd promised them a very special bedtime story. One they'd asked for a long time ago. 

"I'll be there in a minute! Just wait a second!" he yelled back to them. Once the dishes were done, he dried his tanned hands on the kitchen towel, mentally phycking himself up. 

When he was at the door, he took a few seconds to admire his little kids. Rebecca with her dirty blonde hair and green eyes, twinkle in her eyes as she clutched the little teddy bear they'd gotten her for Christmas. She was growing up so fast it was hard to believe she was already three and a half. And Daniel, with his chocolate colored hair and mocca eyes, plump little lips pouting as he had his favorite action figure in his hands. Five years had passed and Calum could see himself in every one of Danny's gestures. 

He was snapped out of his daze when his son let out a grunt. So he pushed off the door frame and moved foward, grabbing the stool by door and moving it between their beds. Becca was scared of the dark and they had decided it was best if the kids shared a room. Made it better for telling bedtime stories too.

"So, what story do you minions want to hear today?" he asked in a playful voice, watching as his children rolled their eyes and let out exasperated sighs.

"Daaaad, you promised!" Danny whined, throwing in his puppy eyes. He knew his dad could never refuse him anything when he did. "Yeah daddy, we want to know how you met Papa!" his little girl squealed. They had him so wrapped around their finger he couldn't even hide how much they melted his heart. He was just glad his husband wasn't there to tease him about it.

"Okay, okay!" he laughed out, holding his hands up in defense. "I'll tell you how Papa and I met". 

Their faces lit up and they snuggled deeper into their covers, turning their bodies fully towards him. 

He hunched foward and began. 

"Well, your Papa and I met when we were five. It was the first day of pre school and your daddy here was terrified". At that the little boy to his right made a snorting sound, smirking his tiny lips at his dad being so scared when he was the same age as him. The little princess to his left giggled too and he just smiled fondly at them both, before feigning a hurtful expression and continuing.

"I'll have you know pre school was a tough place to be at, back then! The kids were bigger and I was too skinny." That made them all laugh a lot louder. "Grandma walked with me to the door and I knew it was it. I was big boy now, I had to go in there alone".

"I'm not gonna be scared Dad! I'm gonna be super brave, like Max Steel!" his son shouted, as he shot up from the covers and went to sit on the edge of his bed, action figure soaring in his little hand. Calum put his hand on the boy's back as he wrapped the other one around the little blonde's head. 

"I know you're not gonna be. You're brave just like your Papa. You should have seen him back then, the tallest in the class, sitting in the back with his ninja turtles in front of him, not caring about anyone else around. He was the coolest kid I had ever seen". Calum's mind was far away now, the memory coming back to him as if it was yesterday. So much time had past but that day was still imprinted in his brain, because well, it had been the day he'd met the love of his life. 

"As soon as I walked in, the first person I saw was him. And I knew, right away that I wanted to be friends with him, because after all, he had three ninja turtles! How cool was that?" He asked his toddlers, smiling as they nodded their little heads enthusiasticly, being ninja turtle fans themselves. He blamed Michael for that, who obsessed on introducing his old TV shows to their infants, so they wouldn't "get contaminated with the crap kids watch these days". 

"Well I took a huge puff of breath and walked all the way to him, with all the other kids staring at me with funny looks on their faces cause I was gonna talk to the scary kid in the back!" He made a couple of funny faces, making the kids giggle hard, tickling them a little bit, for more effect. 

"And when I got to him, he didn't even look up!" He gasped, hearing them imitate him as well, shocked to hear how rude their Papa was. "He just told me to go away! But daddy here, he was trying to be a brave little boy and he didn't want to have to walk away, with all those mean kids watching him and laughing. So he just stood there and said 'I like your ninja turtles' and that made your Papa look up. Those gorgeous green eyes that you have-" he said as his hand smothered his daughters closing eyelids while she giggled " looked straight into my dashing brown ones" he continued, as his other hand poked his son's tiny orbits, earning him a bubbling laugh.

"But he didn't say anything, he just stared at me with his little pink mouth opened in surprise. And well, now that I had his attention, I was gonna show him I was good friend material. So I put my backpack down in front of him, and pulled out my own ninja turtle, Raphael. He looked at it and snatched it from my hands! Can you believe that?" His kids' eyes were trying to stay open, fighting with the sleepiness that was starting to fog their minds. So before he could continue, he took Danny in his arms and put him back under the covers. He pulled Becca's blanket over her shoulders as he sat back down to finish the story. 

"And then what happened daddy?" the three year old's voice sleepily asked. "Well, now he had my Raphael, I couldn't let him keep it. So I sat down right in front of him, and took Donatello in my hands. We looked at each other and started laughing, playing with all the toys we had. From then on, we were inseparable". He said, turning his head to see the satisfied smiles playing on their faces, as they finally allowed sleep to pull them in. 

He went to kiss Danny first, brushing his wavy bangs out of his forhead before turning to Becca. But when he went to kiss her goodnight as well, her tiny hand shot out to hold his shirt and she asked in her last attempt of conciousness "Was that when you fell in love with Papa?". Her eyes were closed but he knew she needed the answer to fully enter dream land, so he kissed her cheek and whispered "No sweetie, but that story is for another time".

He turned around to turn off the lights but stopped when he saw the man by the door. It took him every last ounce of self control not to have yelped, his brain opting instead for a more silent jump, that landed him a couple feet back. He glared at the laughing figure that was backing away from the door, trying to keep quiet and not wake up their children.

As soon as the lights were off and the door slightly closed, he started chasing after the man with dyed black hair, combat boots and an all black attire that was currently running away from him. 

"Oh I'm gonna get you!" he staged whispered, because their apartment was rather small and the sound bounced off their walls like they were in a choir room.

"I'd like to see you try" a thick accented voice replied from somewhere within the kitchen. 

He ran faster and had come to a hault right under the door frame of their kitchen, when he was met with challenging green eyes and a smirk on crimson lips. Well that wouldn't do, so he dashed from his place before the other man could even blink and tackled him to the ground. Groans were heard from both their mouths but Calum successfully trapped his husband under his body weight. 

Now it was his time to smirk as his hips came to lock around Michael's torso and he lifted himself on the palm of his hands to hover over him. 

"Remind me again why I even chose to marry you?" He said with a roll of his eyes, to keep from showing how much his husband's slight stubble and messy hair was turning him on. 

"Because" Michael dragged the word slowly, as his hands were coming to rest on his partner's hips, "I have gorgeous green eyes and impecable taste in cartoons". He winked, knowing that made Calum crazy and the brunette couldn't even believe how cheeky he was.

"You sneaky bastard, how much of the story did you hear?" he asked as his lips came to assault the pale skin of his lover's neck, wanting to litter bruises on it because he had scared the shit out of him. 

Michael took a shaky breath before he replied "I may have heard something about-", he was cut by a moan as Calum's tongue slide over the sensitive spot on the other man's clavicle. "About being the coolest kid and super bad ass" he finished off, making his husband above him pause what he was doing to laugh.

"God you're such an idiot" the tanned man  smiled as he lifted his head to evaluate the look on Michael's face. He older man laughed, eyes squeezed shut and nose scrunching up as his mouth opened up in a booming laugh. He censured himself though, fully aware of the sleeping toddlers just doors away, and smiled softly as he replied "And you're deaf! How did you not hear me come in? I did so much noise!" His hand came to swat his husband's chest but Calum caught it before he reached his final destination.

"Oh shut up" he whispered as he pinned both of Michael's hands above his head and kissed him roughly. Tongues fighting for dominance fogged up their brains and their hips began rutting foward, finding that perfect rythem they'd had over the past decade they'd been together.

When their air supply was cut short, they pulled back to breath, and Calum let go of his husband's arms in favor of using his own to get up. He looked down to see Michael blinking in confusion, hard on visible and kiss swollen lips pouting. He offered him a hand to pull him up as he explained "Babe, I want to have sex with you, but let's get to the bedroom first. Don't want to get caught by our kids getting off on the kitchen floor do we?".

The dyed hair man just pulled his head back in laughter before yanking the hand that had helped him get up and running over to their bedroom.

And yeah, Calum was so damn grateful he'd married that cartoon loving dork.


	2. How I Met Your Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calum tells his daughter the story of how he fell in love with her Father.
> 
> Or
> 
> The one where Calum tells the story of how he fell in love with Michael, his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this took me a really long time to get done, but I heard this song called "First Day Of My Life" by Bright Eyes and the malum feels hit me.
> 
> It's a little longer than the last one but i really hope you guys like it cause I poured my little heart and soul into it. If you're reading, thank you and enjoy!

'"C'mon daddy! Catch me!" a squealing voice shouted from behind Calum. He was heaving, dubbed over and out of breath as his three year old daughter was running in circles around him. The other parents at the park gave him sympathetic looks as they walked by, holding their hyperactive children closely as well.

He was mentally facepalming for having allowed her father to have given her icecream an hour ago, because now he had to deal with the aftermath of the sugar that was racing through her tiny body.

"Becca-" he took another breath in, "Daddy" he exhaled, "Can't run anymore" he finally wheezed out ,collapsing on the grassy patch they had been playing on.

He closed his eyes and not a minute later felt a light weight on his chest. He knew the little blonde girl was smiling at him and that made his lips curl up too. The second he did, he felt her tiny finger poke his dimpled cheek and they both started giggling.

She shifted on his chest, wanting his attention and even though he was exhausted, he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Daddyyyy" she whined. Chuckling a little, he brushed her dirty blonde bangs from sweaty her forehead. "I wanna do something daddy!" She raised her voice.

Calum thought for a minute, mind racing to come up with something that would entertain the toddler but that wouldn't strain him physically. He had an idea.

"Have I ever told you the story of when I fell in love with your Papa?" he asked, hopeful mocca eyes meeting curious green irises.

Her eyes instantly widened and a huge smile shot across her flushed face as she shook her head excitingly, wanting to hear this new story.

He let out a laugh as he began to stand up, waiting for her to slide off his chest and take his hand. They made their way back to the tree where they had been having their family picnic, the blanket full of empty juice boxes and paper plates.

Sitting down, his back rested against the trunk of the tree, while she perched herself on his lap, ready to hear what he'd promised.

"Okay so, I told you that Papa and me, we've known each other for a long time. Since we were five." He looked down at her and she nodded, her eyes following his every movement as if to make up he words he'd say next.

"Well that doesn't mean we fell in love when we were five. I think, we had always loved each other, but it took us some time to fall in love, you get me?" he asked her. Her tiny golden eyebrows knit together as she shook her head and asked what was the difference.

"Well, when you love someone as your friend, you always want to be with them, and help them, and play with them. Because you love them and that makes them the most important people for you". He waits for her lopsided grin to appear before continuing. "But when you fall in love with someone, you suddenly think they're the prettiest person in the world, and that you really want to hold their hand. Heck, you might even want to kiss them!" He laughed, face folding in wrinkles as he took her small face in his big hands and kissed her cheeks. There were giggles and smiles before she shyly asked "Is that what happened with you and Papa?".

He nodded, smiling sweetly as he held her a bit closer and continued. "Yeah sweetie, that's what happened. But it didn't happen all at once... It happened slowly, over many years." His mind began taking him back to the first time he had thought Michael was attractive.

Truth was, he had always found his friend beautiful, envying his sparkling juniper eyes, soft fair skin and luscious red lips that seemed to be that shade no matter what time of day it was. But it wasn't until year six, one evening when they were coming back from school, that it hit him.

They were walking side by side on the pavement, the Sydney sky rapidly changing colors as the sun was setting down above them. Calum had just finished telling Michael about something that had happened in his class and the blonde boy was laughing. Laughing as well, he turned his head to the side to get a glimpse of his friend's expression and the air got caught in his throat. He watched as his best friend threw his head back in laughter, long golden fringe falling to the side as his eyes were squeezed shut and his his crimson lips were open, letting out a booming sound. And Calum couldn't explain why, but in that moment all his mind could make out was 'Michael is so hot' and the thought scared him so much he immediately pushed it to the side and focused on the crossing the road in front of them.

A tiny hand tugging on his sleeve snapped him out of his reminiscing thoughts and he turned to look down at the amused expression on his daughter's little face. "Daddy, c'mon! I wanna know what happened!" she whined at him.

"Sorry sweetie" his voice said softly. He began thinking of the best way to tell a three year old about that day. Truth was, it had been one of the shittiest days of Calum's existence.

It was the day of the Calum's first footy game as an official member of his high school soccer team. He was the first year nine student to make it on the team and his nerves were getting the best of him. All through the morning, people had been congratulating him, patting him on the back in the halls and cheering him on; reminding him just how much pressure was on him to make their team look good. To make matters worse he hadn't seen Michael all day and his stomach was in knots because of it. Sure the game was eating him up inside, but not having his best friend by his side was only making it harder to deal with. He'd fended off those feelings as just needing support, and not like he actually felt the need to have the older boy's constant presence. It's wasn't like every moment they weren't together felt like he couldn't breathe. He'd dwell on that other times, when the night was too quiet and his mind was too loud. 

When the bell had finally rung for lunch period, he'd let out a sigh of relief running out of his classroom, through the halls and into their enormous cafeteria. His big dow eyes had quickly scanned the room, trying to located a certain dirty blonde's back in the sea of high schoolers. A huge grin had erupted on his face when he finally did, finding Michael sitting at the far corner of the room, his back towards everyone as he talked with someone in front of him. Calum hadn't dwelled too much on it as he'd made his way to the lunch line, groaning when he'd seen there was no more pizza and he'd have to eat the soggy burgers provided by their school's lunch lady. It just wasn't his day he'd thought, grabbing the last lukewarm water bottle and heading over to where his friend was. Just by being a few feet away from Michael, he could feel the stress rolling off of him and the butterflies in his stomach intensify. He'd realized what he felt wasn't normal, that just seeing your best friend shouldn't have made his heart rate pick up, and his face melt into what was surely heart eyes and the most lovesick smile it could make. He had accepted that long ago, he just hoped Michael wouldn't pick up on it, because Calum couldn't even handle the thought of losing his friendship, believing he'd never feel the same. 

All those thoughts had been quick to die though, as he'd sat down next to his best friend and felt the table go quiet. Looking up from his tray, he'd seen that Luke, their new friend, was sat next to Michael, except there was something odd. Michael's mouth had seemed to have been mid sentence, stopping when Calum had sat down. To make it even more suspicious, Luke's hand had been on top of Michael's, blue eyes round with alarm staring at the soccer player in front of him. Every worst case scenario had entered Calum's mind and he'd felt his heart shatter as he pieced together what he was seeing. Off course, he'd thought, how stupid could he have been. He'd seen how Michael was acting around the younger lanky boy, had seen the way they'd gotten closer in the few weeks prior, had jealously watched how they would go off together to practice their songs while Calum had to stay and train more and more hours. And now it had happened, they'd gotten together and the dark haired boy hadn't even wanted to think about how broken his face had looked. Instead, he'd cleared his throat and tried putting on a smile, half heartedly laughing before adressing them. "So... you two finally got together huh?" he'd asked them, neither of them moving a muscle, as if they'd been caught. It'd made Calum even sadder, that Michael wouldn't have told him about his feelings for the golden haired boy. They were best friends, there shouldn't have been any secrets. This was so not his day, he'd thought. Finally seeming to have snapped out of his stupor, Michael had started mumbling, letting out jumbled excuses. "No Cal... It's... It's not what it seems... We...", he'd trailed off, looking hopelessly at Luke, who in return had looked even more terrified. Calum had felt he wasn't wanted and he didn't plan on sticking around to watch their inevitable PDA, so he'd just shaken his head and politely excused himself. He'd held onto his tray tight while trying to keep it together and not break down in front of the entire high school. 

The field was the one place that had made him feel as at ease as Michael did, so that's where he'd gone. Climbing up to the top of the bleachers, he'd let the windy September air dance around him as he'd downed the soggy cold burger and tried keeping his tears at bay. He wasn't going to give in, he'd suck it up, be a man and support his best friend. After the game, he'd find him and congratulate him. Maybe Michael's happiness would help soothe the throbbing pain in his chest. 

With that in mind, he'd made it to the end of the day and headed towards the gym. As he warmed up, he couldn't keep himself focused and the hole in his chest was only making it harder to run the necessary laps. He'd just hoped he wouldn't let down his team.

The game had come around and Calum's head couldn't have been more far gone. His thoughts had kept going back to Michael and Luke and then to all the people standing on their bleachers and rooting for them. This had caused him to miss the passes, trip over his own feet and cause unnecessary faults that had given the other team a full advantage. Before the first half had even finished, his coach had switched him and he'd been on the bench the rest of the game. He'd felt so shitty about himself, that not even his team scoring two goals had made him want to stay and celebrate.

As soon as the whistle had signaled the end of the game, he'd run back to the lockers and hit the showers. He'd been the first one out and he hadn't miss the sympathetic looks the others were giving him, which had only made him rush even more to put on his clothes and get out. Once in the empty hallway, he'd taken a deep breathe and searched his mind for any safe place he could go. Home couldn't have been an option as his parents would've undoubtedly been extra cherry, trying not to make him feel bad about being such a loser. Michael's place had been out of question, for obvious reasons and the field had been too painful to go back to. The only place left had been the music room and before he knew it, his feet were carrying him there, feeling just a tad bit lighter as he went. 

Finally there, he'd sat in his favorite corner, a pile of worn out pillows on the ground and a guitar in hand. Truth was he loved playing the bass, but there was something so nostalgic about the acoustic guitar, that had just matched his mood perfectly. His fingers had begun dabbing the chords and he'd let himself smiled a bit as his muscle memory selected the perfect song for his terrible day. He'd started singing Therapy, that one All Time Low song that had made him fall in love with the band, and that had summed up his feelings like nothing else could. Closing his eyes for the final bridge, he'd felt the tears fall down as the words left his lips. "Arrogant boy, love yourself so no one has to, they're better off without you, they're better off without you. Arrogant boy, cause a scene like you're supposed to, they'll fall asleep without you, you're lucky if your memory remains..." It was so true it'd made his heart clench and he'd kept his eyes closed as the song ended, letting the silence in the room seep through him.

"I wouldn't be better off without you." said a small voice that had made Calum's eyes open wide and a loud scream escape his mouth. The scream had also affected Michael, making him jump from the place where he had awkwardly stood seconds before, just a foot away from Calum. His juniper eyes had seemed sad, almost as if regretful, when they'd made direct contact with the ebony eyes from the shattered boy on the floor. 

For a moment Calum had let himself soak up Michael; how good he'd looked with that leather jacket he never took off, how his skin tight jeans hugged his legs just right and how his messy hair always seemed the perfect amount of effortless and cool. Michael had looked so beautiful and was so out of his league and yet, he was in front of Calum, the loser who couldn't even pass a ball straight. He'd let his head hang in shame as he asked "How did you find me?", wincing as his voice cracked at the end and just hoping Michael would overlook it. The blonde's voice had been soft when he replied "I just thought of the only place you'd want to be after today".

Despite himself, Calum had to smile at how well Michael knew him, and the fact that he'd actually looked for him instead of leaving him alone. But that hadn't seemed fair to him, especially when Luke would have probably been waiting to spend some time with his boyfriend.

"Thanks Mikey. But I'm fine, really. You should... You should go back to Luke okay? Don't keep your boyfriend waiting.", he'd heard the visible pain in his voice and he hadn't had the strength to look Michael in the eye, so instead he'd looked down at the guitar in his hands,hoping no tears would fall down in front of his best friend. 

However, he'd heard footsteps getting closer to him and looked up just in time to see Michael sitting down in front of him, legs being crossed Indian style, with an indecipherable look on his face. A sad smile had made it's way through his lips as he'd spoken, "Luke's not my boyfriend Cal...", voice almost a whisper in the quiet dark room. Calum's eyebrows  had furrowed in confusion but Michael didn't give him time to ask. Instead he'd gently grabbed the guitar from his hands and asked if he could play the younger boy a song. Not really understanding what was happening, Calum had slowly nodded his head and rested his back against the wall, waiting for what Michael wanted to sing. Michael, he'd observed, seemed to be calming himself down as well, alternating between taking deep breathes and stealing glances at Calum before finally closing his eyes and letting his fingers fly over the strings. It had been a soft melody, already calming Calum down from the storm of feelings inside him. Michael had begun singing and the brunette had found himself getting lost in his raspy but warm voice. 

"This is the first day of my life, think I was born right in the doorway. Now I thought it was strange, suddenly everything changed, they're spreading blankets on the beach. Yours is the first face that I saw, think I was blind before I met you. Now I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been but I know where I want to go..." as Michael had kept on singing, Calum kept falling, falling so hard he would've crashed had Michael not been there to catch him. The blonde would shyly look up smiling to find Calum doing the exact same thing and the overwhelming love in the room had been almost suffocating.

"So if you want to be with me, with these things there's no telling, you just have to wait and see...", he'd sung as his green eyes gleamed so bright that they had seemed like emeralds carved in his pearl white face. And since his fringe had kept falling on them, Calum could only oblige to the need of brushing it away with his fingers. And if that made him get closer to Michael, well who could've blamed him? 

"Besides maybe this time it's different, I mean I really think you like me..." Michael's voice had trailed along with the melody as he'd finished the song and his hands stilled. There had been a moment, where they'd both looked at each other and smiled, a silent conversation being held with just their eyes. Brown to green. Seeming to have agreed, Calum had closed the gap between them, moving the hand that had previously been holding Michael's fringe in place, to his flushed cheek. He'd felt the guitar digging it's edge against his rib but didn't care when his lips finally - Finally - touched Michael's.

It had been like coming home and discovering a new place where he belonged, all at the same time. Their plump lips slotted perfectly, moving in sync as if they'd been meant to be like this, connected. Michael's hand had moved to Calum's waist and his tongue was carefully exploring the inside of the brunette's mouth. It was sweet, long, and full of so many years of lingering looks and repressed thoughts.

When they had finally pulled back to breathe, Calum felt wonderful, as if the days previous events had been absolutely nothing compared to the feeling of Michael's words ringing in his ears and the taste of his mouth.

He'd pressed their forheads together and laughed slightly as he teased "So Luke isn't your boyfriend huh?". He could tell Michael had rolled his eyes before chucking himself and replying "Nop.", and then as an after-thought he'd added, "But you might be". It had been said in a joking matter but there was an undertone of uncertainness to his voice, as if he'd thought Calum wouldn't want him; even after that amazing kiss.   
   
"Mikey, I've been in love with you for three years now. Trust me when I say, the only thing I really want in my life, is your boyfriend. Okay?" he'd asked, eyes locked on the pale figure in front of him. As if to ground himself, the older boy was clutching his wrists while he'd held his face in his hands. "I've been in love with you since we were ten.", a small smile grazed Michael's kiss swollen lips as he replied.   
   
After that, they'd spent what seemed like hours kissing until Michael remembered that Luke was indeed waiting for him outside the room. He'd then proceeded to explain that Luke was actually helping Michael come up with a way to tell Calum how he felt, and that they'd been in the middle of that when said boy had approached them on their lunch time. They were panicked Calum would have overheard their conversation but then had been too shocked to actually come up with something, once he'd assumed they were together.   
   
That was the official story, but Calum felt there were some parts his very young daughter didn't need to know. So he told her he'd had a bad day, how his soccer team was counting on him and how awful he'd felt about not playing right. He told her about the music room and him singing a sad song, thinking he was a loser. He told her about her father showing up, beautiful as always and serenading him with the sweetest song he'd ever heard.

And just when he was about to get to the kiss part, and the little girl's eyes were wide with expectation, ready for the big ending, a tall figure holding a guitar and a smaller child attached to his arm began making their way towards the pair, smiles on their faces and sweat dripping from their forheads.

As if breaking the trance they were in, Becca jumped up from his lap, practically leaping over to Michael, who was now very close to their picnic tree. Daniel made a beeline for Calum and he momentarily got lost in the way his son embraced him, as if being away from him for an hour was too much. And with the intesity he was holding the boy, it was obvious he felt the same thing.

As Daniel now took his place next to Calum, sucking his Capri Sun as fast as his five year old mouth allowed him, Michael sat down in front of his husband, with his little blonde twin by his side. For a minute they just stared at each other, silently admiring their lovely family and how happy they were. But just when they were about to lean into each other for a kiss, Becca spoke up.

"Papa?" she asked in a shy voice. Smiling, Michael turned to her and motioned for her to go on. After a moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth, esmerald eyes sparkling as they always did when she had an idea. "Can you play the song you sang for Daddy when he was sad?".

Surprised, the dark haired man turned to his husband, amused smirk on his face while he waited for an explanation. Calum only shrugged, pulling his son a little closer to him as he obliged. "I..", he trailed off rubbed the back of his neck with his free arm, "I might have told her how we got together?", it ended up sounding like a question.

Michael's eyes lit up so bright, and his smile was so big and genioune, that Calum lost his breathe, for the millionth time, as he admired how amazing his husband was.

Turning back to the little girl, Michael nodded and placed his guitar right, fingers poised over the chords and eyes softly gliding over all his family.

As he began playing, both kids leaned on Calum's sides, and emerald irises connected with ebony eyes. And in that moment Calum thanked any god above, because he was so damn lucky he'd fallen in love with his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So if you made it to the end, thankyou thankyou thankyou (as the wise Calum writes kashdasj), you're amazing and I hope you let me know what you thought of it in the comments. Feel free to hit me up on my tumblr (milionmilestolife.tumblr.com) if you wanna fangirl about the boys or life.
> 
> The songs used in this fic are Therapy by All Time Low and First Day Of My Life by Bright Eyes.


	3. How I Proposed To Your Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calum tells his kids the story of how he proposed to their Father.
> 
> Or the one about how Michael and Calum got hitched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, I know I should've posted this earlier but it took me a month to get this story right. I can only blame procrastination for my delay but I hope you guys liked it. Totally and shamelessly insipired by Thinking Out Loud and my great friend Rafa (who actually came up with the idea and read every update). 
> 
> Forgive any grammer mistakes and I hope you all enjoy alsdhajsdhasd

"Daddy, dance with me!" a squealing voice called from the carpeted floor of the Hood's living room. All eyes shifted to the little blonde toddler, as she was struggling to get up on her feet. A collective laugh escaped from their lips, Michael's hand coming to squeeze Calum's as David and Joy smiled fondly at their granddaughter and Mali held Daniel a bit closer on her lap. 

It was the first Sunday afternoon of the month, meaning all the family would get together and have lunch. It was a time for the kids to spend with Calum's family, as most of them were always too busy with work to be able to get together. The tradition started as soon as the Hood kids went off to college and couldn't make time for their parents. When they'd gotten back and were settled in the city, Joy had demanded her children pay her a visit, at least once a month. And for Calum, this was his favorite moment of the week.

Becca stood in front of him, her juniper eyes sparkling with excitement, little hips swaying around as she was waiting for him. 'Thinking Out Loud' was playing in the background and Calum really wanted to dance with her, the song having such a special meaning to him, but his mother's lunch was resting in his stomach, making him feel heavy and droopy. He looked over to Michael, to find him in the same state, green eyes dimming with the lazy air around them and cheeks flushed from the same heaviness. They both shared a look and were mentally debating who should get up and take the little girl's grabby hands when Tom, Mali's husband walked in the room, an intrigued expression on his face.

He raised an eyebrow and Mali was quick to explain. "Becca wants to dance with Calum..." she said laughing at the end, eyes crinkling as she pointed to the song still playing on the radio. A fond smile made its way to Tom's face as he walked toward the three year old saying, "You know Becca, your aunt Mali knows a  _great_  story about your daddies with that song...". As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a gasp escaped from her and she was turning to her aunt, eyes pleading and lips pouting. Everyone was laughing as Tom added "I bet she'd  _love_  to tell it to you". It was hilarious because everyone knew that Mali hated telling stories, the reason being she could never remember the important details. Nevertheless Becca was nodding intensely and Calum was quick to catch his brother-in-law's eyes and silently thank him.

Mali looked at him with a mock glare but the small smirk she was repressing betrayed her, letting them all know she could never be mad at her husband. She did however turn the tables as she countered "You know Becca, I bet your daddy would  _love_ to tell you that story!". She made a point of clutching her heart and winking at her niece before adding, " _Actually, we would all love to hear that story again_ ". By this time everyone in the room was hauling with laughter except for Calum, who was faking a groan of annoyance at his sister, but really deep down was so glad, because he wanted his kids to get the story from him.

Danny scrambled from his aunt's lap and was joining his sister on the floor, both with their little legs crossed and ready for their father's story.

"Well..." he said trailing off, suddenly not knowing from where to start. He looked over at his husband, and was met with a fond smile on plump crimson lips and a small twinkle playing around lazy green eyes. He was instantly mesmerized by him, his hand moving on autopilot and caressing Michael's cheek. He faintly heard his children gagging and Mali joining in with a not so subtle "Whipped" and a cough but he didn't care. He leaned forward anyways, catching those lips with his own for a sweet peck and laughing immediately as everyone in the room made annoyed sounds of protest. When he pulled back, those lips were moving and he tried focusing on the words. "You should start with the promise Cal", Michael's dazed voice said softly.

 

 "What promise Daddy?" Daniel asked from his place in front of the them. He looked back at him, and then at Becca and couldn't help smiling.  _They_  were the promise, even way before they were even a plan, they'd always been the promise. A promise of two boys to love each other no matter what, and to be a family forever. It made Calum's heart swell up just thinking about it.

 "Well, when your Papa and I were seventeen we were in the last year of high school. And when you two get to year twelve, you'll see that a lot of things start to change. And that can happen to people too, they change a lot. And sometimes, they drift too far away from each other..." he said, looking up to see his family with foregone looks on their faces, as if each was remembering what it was like to be seventeen and the people they left behind.

His little kids seemed confused but he didn't feel like explaining that part to them, they were too young and innocent for that. They'd get there eventually, but they'd be alright though.

"So on the last night before graduation, your Papa and I were looking at the stars right under that tree over there." He said as he pointed to the tree that could be seen through the large wooden framed window from the side of the room. They had planted that tree in the Hood's backyard as a science project in year three, back when they were skinny boys with teeth missing and terrible haircuts. They'd named it the 'Malum Tree', giggling at how clever they were by joining their names together. And faithful to Miss Rose's word, the tree had grown strong over the years and provided the best shade from the heated Australian sun.

It was also their favorite hangout spot and the place where Michael held Calum that night, looked him straight in the eyes and told him that he was it. That he could search the whole world but that there would never be anyone else he wanted to spend the rest of his life with than Calum. And that he was scared of losing him because they'd be far away from each other during their college time, but if Calum wanted, he promised that he'd do whatever it took to make their relationship last. He'd stunned the kiwi boy out of words, so as always, rather than speaking, Calum had showed what he felt with actions. He'd kissed him with all he had, putting every ounce of love into that kiss, and when it got too much, he'd taken the pale boy's hand, standing up and pulling them inside, up the stairs and to his bedroom. Calum had closed the door, and climbed with Michael onto the bed, knowing it was the right time. Granted, they'd been together for three years but they'd never wanted to rush having sex. They'd had steamy make out sessions and gone a little bit further, but both had agreed that they'd know when the right time would come. So when Michael had pressed their foreheads together and green eyes locked on brown, they'd known. And they'd done it, whispering muffled promises between moans and kisses. Later that night while they were snuggled against each other, Calum had promised too. To never stop loving Michael and to fight for what they had, because there was nothing he wanted more than to be with the bleached haired boy for the rest of his life.

All the family was looking out at the tree but he knew Michael was seeing past it; he was remembering all they'd said and done that night. So it didn't surprise him when he spoke in a quiet voice, gaze still fixed on their tree. "That night, your Daddy and I promised that we were it for each other. That we would love each other forever and that no mater what, we would always be a family".

Calum was so wrapped up in the words his husband had just said, he vaguely felt a slight weight being pressed on him and when he looked down he saw that their kids had climbed on them, nestling themselves on their laps. Danny was pressing his mop of mocha colored curls to his Papa's broad chest and Becca was curling her little pale arms around his middle. The sight was so endearing he felt he could be close to tears.

"What happened after that Daddy?" Becca asked, as he was stroking her back lightly, one hand on her and the other holding Michael's as Danny played with them. From the other side of the room Mali snorted and answered before her brother could. "Your daddy was an _idiot_ , that's what happened" she said, laughing softly from the place where her head was resting on Tom's shoulder, enveloped in his arms. Joy chirped in too, all seemingly against the youngest of the Hoods. "Your Daddy almost lost your Papa because he was too busy paying attention to a ball!".

Calum, feeling slightly offended, felt the need to defend his younger self. "Excuse me for trying to maintain a scholarship in a prestigious college!" he said while trying not to break out of character and laugh along with everyone. "It's okay babe" he heard Michael say next to him. "You were just making the big dough to get me hitched" he finished winking cheekily at him. And damn it, he knew he had Calum wrapped around his finger.

"Daddy, continue the story!" the little girl in his arms urged him. He smiled down at her and obliged. "Well, your aunt is sort of right. I  _was_  an idiot." he granted.

"When high school ended, we had the best summer of all but then college came around. Your Papa was staying here to go to Art School and I was going away, to a different city so I could go to Business school. But I was going on a footy scholarship, which meant I had to play football alot!" he said, smiling as Danny's eyes sparkled at the mention of his favorite sport.

"In the beginning I used to call your Papa every day, sometimes even three times a day! I missed him  _alot_  to be honest..." he trailed off, remembering long nights of insomnia because he had grown used to sleeping with Michael's warm body pressed firmly against him. Everything had felt so foregein to him, and being away from his boyfriend had only made adapting to the new environment he was in harder. The only thing that had made him feel at home was the footy field.

"It didn't seem like that though." Michael retorted, as something close to pain flashed through his eyes. Calum felt bad, because he knew what Michael was talking about.

"It didn't  _seem_  like it because I didn't want you to know that I wasn't sleeping at night because I missed being wrapped in your arms. It didn't  _seem_  like it because I didn't want you to know that after every phone call I would cry because the pain of not seeing you was too much. It didn't  _seem_  like it-" he rambled but was cut off by David saying " _Okay_  Calum, we got the point". There was no real heat behind all the words, but Calum really wanted all his family to know how much he'd missed Michael in that time. And he didn't miss when Michael looked down bashfully, with a light coat of pink blush on his pale cheeks. 

"Okay, so, as I was saying before I was so  _rudely interrupted_ ", he gave a pointed look to Michael, who only replied with a smirk, before continuing. "I missed your Papa alot, and because the pain of not being with him was killing me, I decided to throw myself totally into footy. That was the only place that felt like home, even when I was far away". 

"But the thing was, your stupid  _Daddy_  over here forgot that there was another person feeling just as much pain as him, and that he  _needed_  him." Mali interjected, always one to expose Calum's flaws. "So what did your Daddy do?" she asked the kids. "Tell them  _little brother_ , what  _did_  you do?".

Calum sighed and everyone laughed, already knowing what would come next. "I broke up with your Papa..." he said in a feeble voice. Two sharp gasps were heard from the kids, as they began tripping over each other in protests and questions. The adults were all roaring with laughter, amused by the expression on the toddlers faces.

"Daddy  _why did you do that_?!" Becca asked in disbelief as her hands were over her rosy cheeks, as if to emphasize her shock. Danny on the other hand, had taken to putting his head in his hands, and shaking it disapprovingly as Michael laughed heartedly and carded his fingers through the boy's curls.

"I know,  _I know_ , let me explain people!" Calum said, pretending to be exasperated. "There was a valid reason for this okay?" he shouted through the new wave of protests coming from his children. 

"Alright, so my reason was simple. I missed your Papa too much, and being away from him was literally tearing me apart. And I kept thinking that, if I felt that way, your Papa must have too." The whole room went silent, not wanting to miss a word from his mouth. He had to look past them, towards the tree, to try and fend off the blush that was creeping on his cheeks from all the unwanted attention. "That hurt me even more because I didn't want him to feel pain. I wanted him to feel happiness and love, and with me, I felt like he wasn't getting it." he finished off, trailing at the end because he was being one hundred percent honest there, in front of all his family. He felt Michael take his hand and when he turned, his husband brushed his fingers against those red lips, kissing them in a way that felt like he understood, and that he had forgiven him. 

Calum didn't even try to hide the smile that was taking over his face, but before he could even think about stealing one more kiss from Michael, the whole family had gone back to gagging and making obnoxious sounds just to ruin their mood. They didn't have any other choice but to laugh and continue the story.

"So six months went by after that." Another round of protests and disapproving gestures were aroused by that statement, but all Calum could hear was Michael's watery voice on the other side of the phone, that night he had decided to end it. Michael had tried so hard to reason with him, to make him see how much he loved him but Calum being too blinded by his own heartache, couldn't be dissuaded. He'd never regretted something so much in his life.

" _Anyways_..." he raised his voice so everyone would shut up and let him get to the better part of the story. "I spent six months throwing all the hurt into making myself better for footy, and trying to keep up with business school. I didn't even give myself any time to breathe and that's probably why on the first official game, when Uncle Luke came to see me with Uncle Ashton, I sprained myself on the first half and had to spend the rest of the game in the hospital."

That had actually been Calum's breaking point, and on that hospital bed next to his two best friends he had shed all the tears he'd been repressing for the last six months. Always by his side, Luke and Ashton had held him while holding onto each other, making him feel like home for the first time in a long while. After he'd managed to quiet his sobs to soft sniffles, Luke had told him how Michael had been handling the break up. And it had made Calum's tears double again, as he heard how his boy had lost all his inspiration, postponing his first semester at the art academy and taking a plane to a place no one knew. They hadn't heard from him for five months, but the day before Calum's match, he'd texted Ashton saying he would be coming back the next week and he wanted them to pick him up. Feeling exhausted, all the brunette had wanted was to lay down and rest but glancing at his friends, he could tell they had a plan in mind and that he wouldn't be able to escape it.

"So after crying a lot, your Uncles thought the best thing for me to do was to go back home and win your Papa back." he said, feeling happy with how his kids' eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"How did you do it Daddy?" Danny asked, hands holding his little head as his elbows dug into his sun-kissed legs, from how he was sustaining himself.

At this the whole family smiled, because even though the events before it had been unfortunate, this was their favorite part of the story. Calum couldn't wait to tell them.

"Well, after your Grandma helped me out so I could have an excuse to leave Uni for a week, I went back home and with your Aunt and your Uncles we came up with a plan, that I hoped would make your Papa love me again." he rushed out, feeling a little exposed with his statement. "I never stopped loving you, you idiot" Michael said softly next to him, but as he was about to reply, his daughter beat him to it.

"C'mon daddy, get to it!" Becca exclaimed in exasperation, anxiety showing off as her tiny red lips pouted and her eyebrows knitted together. 

"Alright, alright!" he surrendered, before continuing. "Your Papa had asked Ashton if he could pick him up from the airport because he had gone away for a while, and wanted to come back home. We knew that if I showed up there, it wouldn't be fun for either of us and there was chance your Papa would get mad. So instead, your Uncle picked him up as if he knew nothing and proceeded to take him to his house, but on the way there, he  _suddenly remembered_  he had forgotten something at the footy field of our old high school, where he worked as a coach. Needless to say, your Papa was more than upset, and insited your Uncle went  _after_  he'd left him at his house-" he was teasingly saying when Michael interjected "Hey! Forgive a guy for being heartbroken and wanting to sulk at home in peace!" That made everyone laugh, creating even more suspense for the toddlers who were awaiting. 

" _Anyways_... Ashton insisted he really needed what he had forgotten and that it would only take a minute. In fact, he suggested your Papa go with him, just so he wouldn't get bored while waiting in the car." He was about to continue when he had a better thought, "You wanna tell them that part?" he asked his husband, because he knew no one told it better than him.

A smirk appeared almost instantly and Michael shifted the children's attention to him. "So of course I go along, grumpy and just wanting to go home. Imagine, a person as pale as your Papa, dressed from head to toe in black with a black leather jacket, having to walk under the ray of our heated australian sun to the one place where it was impossible to escape your Daddy's memories. I was hating it!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air to enphasize, making everyone around crack up with laughter.

"And I'm there, waiting next to bleachers for your stupid Uncle to come back when I suddenly hear it. The sound of an acoustic guitar and the unmistakable voice of one Mr. Calum Hood. And guess what song he was singing?" he asked, right as the kids shouted "Thinking Out Loud!"

He chuckled a bit before continuing with a wide smile on his face. "Yep, but at first I couldn't see him, I could only hear his voice booming thorugh the speakers. For a moment I actually thought the sun had been so hot, I had passed out and was currently hallucinating. But then, just as the chorus kicked in I see him, all the way up at the top of the bleachers, microphone in hand and next to him your Uncle Luke playing the guitar." He turned to the side, catching Calum's eye before focusing again on everyone around. 

The gleam in his eye made Calum remember the moment vividly. Luke had been pumping him up, telling him he had to man up and do the right thing. Calum obviously countered with every single possibility to Michael's reaction but Luke had simply shooken his head and tightened his grip on the brunette's arm, to not let him run should he chicken out. As soon as he saw Ashton walking through the door, Calum felt his heart rate pick up and in that moment, he thought that he could possibly be having a heartattack. Ashton told him Michael was down there, and that now it was all up to him. So taking a deep breathe, he took the microphone Ashton was giving him, and he nodded to Luke, who took the acoustic guitar he'd brought. They both headed out of the locker room and up the stairs on the side of the bleachers, as they began to sing the song. In that moment he'd felt like he was only walking because of the adrenaline pumping through his veins, but the second he reached the top and looked down to see Michael, hair dyed a fiery red, dressed all in black and green eyes dimming in confusion he knew he had taken the right decision. He just hoped Michael would agree with him.

He tuned back in as Michael was saying, "You can imagine my face! I was completly stunned! I didn't know what was going on, and I wanted to be so mad at Calum, but your Daddy was singing that song and he looked so handsome, my mind instantly turned to mush."

"Actually I was terrified" Calum countered, smiling as big as his kids were. He had actually been terrified, because part of him had wanted to drop the microphone and run up to his boy, apologize, kiss him and beg for his forgiveness. And the other part of him wanted to cry because the closer he got, the more he could see how pale Michael was, and how there were dark bags under his eyes. And even though his eyes were sparkling, there was a heavy sadness that never left them. But the stronger part of him knew that only he could fix it, and he was praying to every god that what he had planned would work.

"So your Daddy gets to the bottom of the steps, just as he's singing  _People fall in love in mysterious ways._ He takes my hand and keeps singing. Just picture it, my heart beating like a drum, my hands probably sweating like buckets and your Daddy has the nerve to sing,  _I'll_ _just keep on making the same_ _mistakes_ _,_ _hoping_   _that_   _you'll_   _understand_ _._  I mean, I was obviously too in love, because in another state I might have slapped him." Michael said, as the whole room was lit in laughter and smiles. He turned to Calum and as usual, they only needed one look to communicate with each other, and the brunette nodded.

He took the lead of the story again. "So after singing the last  _Baby, we_ _found_ _love_ _right_ _where we_ _are_ , I wanted to kiss your Papa so much. His face was a mess of emotions, because he didn't know if he wanted to smile or frown." He teased, wincing as Michael elbowed him.

"Don't make me regret it Hood" he said in a joking tone, as Calum continued.

"So I decided to confuse him more as I held onto his hands and told him exactly how I felt." He paused, taking Michael's hands in between the kids, and looking him straight in the eye. Brown to green.

"I told him: Michael Gordon Clifford, I'm the biggest idiot to ever walk this planet. Never has there been a bigger fool, than the one standing in front of you. I was scared, and confused and I made you walk away from me, without realizing that I was literally letting the best thing of my life go." And just like that time, seven years ago, Michael's eyes were filling with tears but now he was smiling, knowing what would happen next.

So Calum let go for a second, lifting Becca from his lap, and Danny from Michael's before leaning down on one knee, making everyone in the room gasp, just as his friends had done back then. See, a thing about Calum is he liked to show how he was feeling, and more than that, to surprise people. So as soon as he'd gotten home, he had walked all around town with Mali, looking for the perfect ring to show Michael how serious he was about him.

"Then I got down on one knee, on the hard grass of our high school footy field with the sun burning on us and our best friends clutching each other above us, in shock", he said, just to lighten the seriousness of the mood. Then he took Michael's hand again, making his booming laugh quiet down to a soft smile.

"And I said: This probably won't be the last time that I'll make a big mistake, nor will it be the last time we have a fight. But a year ago I made a promise to love a boy, a boy I've loved forever actually. And under a tree in the middle of the night, this boy told me I was it for him. And I'm just here, wondering, would this boy ever consider giving this idiot another chance, to prove to him everyday that we found love right where we are?" He finished, feeling small tears falling from his eyes, just like the first time.

The room was still for a moment, just Michael staring into his eyes, and then his lips stretched into a wide smile as he said. "And then I told him: You're an idiot. And pulled him up so I could give him what he deserved". Pulling him up, Michael took his face in his hands and without hesitation kissed him. It seemed like the same kiss they shared as teenagers under that tree, and as adults on the footy field.

Behind them their family cheered, with Mali whopping, Tom and David wolfwhistling, and Joy and the kids clapping. They pulled away smiling, their cheeks wet with the stray tears and faces flushed from the moment.

When they sat back down, the kids once again perched on their lap, Mali started sharing trivia on Michael's reaction to the ring and their Uncles' surprised looks. Calum tuned out, taking a moment to look at his family, and feel so damn proud he'd gotten his boy back. Michael caught his eye, and when they looked at each other, he knew he was feeling the same thing. And once again Calum felt like the luckiest man in the world, because there was no one he'd rather spend the rest of his life with, than Michael Clifford - Hood.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, so I know this was a little longer than the first two chapters but I really hope you guys liked it. PLEASE tell me what you thought because I'm actually really excited about the next chapter, which should be the last.
> 
> Anyways thank you guys so much if you read until the end, you're all beautiful eggplants and I give you my love.

**Author's Note:**

> Well thank you so so much if you read until the end! Please tell me what you think in the comments, was it too weird? Too childish? I wanna know! 
> 
> Haha, anyways, thank you so much and if you want to talk to me some more my tumblr is milionmilestolife.tumblr.com


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